No. 18 Bulldogs down No. 11 Red Raiders in five

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The No. 18 Concordia volleyball team defeated GPAC foe No. 11 Northwestern College on Saturday, Sept. 26 in five sets (19-25, 26-24, 24-26, 25-19, 15-9). The Bulldogs took the second, fourth and fifth sets in the match, hitting .333 in the last set.

“Wow, what a match,” head coach Scott Mattera said on the win. “It really had everything both good and bad for both teams, but the most important thing it had was huge heart and toughness from these Bulldogs. We had so many chances to give in but they just fought back every time. This place has been a place of nightmares for us over the years so to pull this one out against No. 11 in the country is awfully special.”

Five different Bulldogs had at least seven kills in the match with three in double digits. Tiegen Skains led with 14 kills and hit .370. Taylor Workman and Annie Friesen each contributed 10 kills. Claire White tallied eight kills while Paige Getz marked up seven kills.

Mattera said, “Tiegen was flat out unstoppable today. So many of her kills were highlight reel type but it was her shot selection that impressed me most. Taylor had a huge match as well making great decisions turn the ball around the blocks. Kudos to our serve receive as well.  It started off really rough but they really got it going as the match went on.”

Alayna Kavanaugh dished out 43 assists, served up three aces and recorded four kills. Libero Jocelyn Garcia dug up a team leading 14 attacks while Kendra Dinkel marked up 10 digs.

As a team, Concordia hit .187 to the Red Raiders .125. The Bulldogs also out killed Northwestern College, 54-46. Blocks for the two squads were equal at eight apiece.

The No. 18 Concordia volleyball team improves to 15-4 (4-1 GPAC) on the season while No. 11 Northwestern drops to 16-4 (4-1 GPAC).

Slated next for the Bulldogs is the last non-conference match of the season vs Central Christian College. The match will be at Walz Arena on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m.